Mao’s tactics mean business

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HUAWEI TECHNOLOGIES was founded 17 years ago by Ren Zhengfei, a former officer in the People’s Liberation Army; now it is China’s biggest telecoms equipment maker.

Although the company bristles at suggestions that Mr Ren, 61, still has close ties to the military, reports that the army may exert some control have been hard to shake off.

The company — which has expanded into the West with projects across Europe — has had to fight claims of infringing intellectual property rights. In January it was sued by Cisco for allegedly copying the American company’s router code. The lawsuit was dropped